Monthly Archives-2017

Here are various segments published on PodCloud1

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PeeperD’s Holiday Edition –

PeeperD shares a stocking full of musical treats in this holiday-themed pod.

Featuring new Christmas music from Cheap Trick, The Mavericks, and Roseanne Cash. Songs from The Lumineers, Alison Krauss, The Boy Least Likely To, George Thorogood, X, and The Ohio City Singers spice up the mix.

No Posers – Volume 3 –

No Posers: The Underground Revolution of Rock examines the punk and new wave revolution of the 70s.

Volume 3 drops you right into the middle of the 70s as more bands join the growing punk and new wave movement.
Featuring music from The Clash, Elvis Costello, Talking Heads, Devo, Richard Hell & The Voidoids, The Adverts, Nick Lowe, The Saints, Pere Ubu, The Jam, The Saints and The Damned. Plus The Nerves perform the original version of a song popularized by Blondie.

These are forgotten tracks that will take you back to the days when FM radio was truly an art form. And, likely never be played on today’s preset definition of what is “Classic Rock”.

70’s Deep Tracks – the return of album rock…Podcloud1 style!

Here’s a pod that splits its time between big names and one-hit wonders.

Early Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Bob Seger, Pablo Cruise and Styx are names you’ll probably recognize. But songs from Doucette, Blackjack, The British Lions, Stillwater and Charlie are the special musical discoveries awaiting you in this collection of deep tracks!

Holiday Shopping Guide –

PeeperD hosts his annual holiday shopping guide with a look at possible gift ideas for the music lover in your life.

New albums from classic rockers dominate this year’s offerings.
Featuring samples from the latest releases by Gregg Allman, Robert Plant, The Isley Brothers & Santana, Van Morrison, and Yusuf. Plus retrospectives from Jethro Tull, U2 and David Bowie. Pink Floyd fans will enjoy samples of new albums from both David Gilmour and Roger Waters.
And, an unreleased Neil Young album from 40 years ago finally sees the light of day.

Whodunnit Vol. 9 –

It’s the pod that challenges you to figure out “WhoDunnit”.

This edition features music pulled from albums released just this past year.
Songs originally popularized by Marvin Gaye, Bob Dylan, Santana, John Meyer, Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes, Brandi Carlile and Teenage Fanclub.
Plus selections from the “Elvi”-songs originally performed by Elvis Presley and Elvis Costello.

Toasty Tidbits –

PeeperD pays tribute to Grant Hart and Walter Becker with selections from Husker Du and Steely Dan. New music from Greta Van Fleet and Frightened Rabbit. Pearl Jam, Led Zeppelin and John Hammond round out the set.
Plus background samples from the new album from Mogwai.

Warm up your November with these toasty tidbits!

No Posers – volume 2 –

Our new soundboard series focusing on the punk and new wave revolution of the 70s continues!

1975 marks the year that the movement starts to take shape with The Sex Pistols and The Ramones leading the way on either side of the Atlantic.
This pod also features music from The Dead Boys, Television, Pere Ubu, The Runaways, Blondie, Eddie & The Hot Rods and Patti Smith.

November Batch –

MisterMusic puts a batch of songs together in this pod.

Classic tunes pulled from the vault by Alan Parsons Project, The Fixx, and Luce.
Recent indie songs from Sun Parade, and Geowulf.
And, new tunes by Dan Auerbach, Secret Colours, and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club add to this November pod.

Stirring Up Spooky Sounds –

Halloween’s right around the corner! Get ready with some suitably spooky sounds from PeeperD.

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Concrete Blonde, The Doors, Love & Rockets, Karen Elson, and Chris Isaak are part of a musical mix perfect for long nights and dark spaces.
Plus a cut from the new album from Pere Ubu. The Great Pumpkin and Kolchak The Night Stalker make guest appearances as well.

No Posers: The Underground Revolution of Rock- Vol. 1

It’s a brand new soundboard series on Podcloud1!

This spin-off of 70’s Deep Tracks explores the underground revolution of the punk and new wave movement of the 70s. The debut episode follows the proto-punk movement from the late 60s and early 70s that inspired the punk revolution.

Proto-punk was never a cohesive movement, nor was there a readily identifiable proto-punk sound that made its artists seem related at the time. What ties proto-punk together is a certain provocative sensibility that didn’t fit the prevailing counterculture of the time. It was consciously subversive and fully aware of its outsider status. In terms of its lasting influence, much proto-punk was primitive and stripped-down, even when it wasn’t aggressive, and its production was usually just as unpolished. It also frequently dealt with taboo subject matter, depicting society’s grimy underbelly in great detail, and venting alienation that was more intense and personal than ever before.

Featuring music from The Velvet Underground, MC5, Iggy and The Stooges, Rocket From The Tombs, Dr. Feelgood, The Modern Lovers, New York Dolls, Destroy All Monsters, and The Dictators. Plus 60s garage bands The Sonics and The Monks.

Fall Spice –

As the air is getting crisp, and the hoodies and light jackets are being dug out of the closet, MisterMusic is spinning the tunes!

This Fall podcast features new music by U2, Cults, Shout Out Louds, and
The Belligerents. Some great older classics from The Replacements, Camper Van Beethoven, Band of Horses, and Weezer fill in the mix.

Get your super glue ready!

Whodunnit-Vol. 8 –

The game pod that challenges your musical knowledge is back!

WhoDunnit features hit tunes that are not performed by the original artist.
Host PeeperD will offer hints, but it’s up to you to figure out WhoDunnit.
This edition features a playlist of songs originally popularized by The Rolling Stones, Peter Gabriel, Vampire Weekend, Simon & Garfunkel, The Temptations and Brenton Wood.

Screw on your thinking caps and try to figure out “WhoDunnit?”

September Pod –

PeeperD returns with a blast of new music to bring in the fall.

Iron & Wine, Lilly Hiatt, and Manchester Orchestra provide fresh sounds to the mix. Classic tracks from Stephen Stills, The Killers,The Style Council and Monsterland.
Plus a garage rock nugget from The Brogues.
Backing tracks from new releases by Little Steven, Four Tet and a great re-issue from Mulatu Astake.

Year In Modern Rock: 1988-89

The Modern Rock chart was published by the music industry magazine Billboard, it was created in the midst of the growing popularity of alternative music on rock radio in the late 1980s. As less-established alternative acts were receiving minimal exposure on album-oriented rock (AOR) radio stations, their labels turned to modern rock stations for airplay.

During the decade, it was known as the Modern Rock Tracks chart and tabulated based on play from commercial radio & non-commercial college stations.

The Modern Rock Tracks chart debuted in the September 10, 1988 issue of Billboard, with the inaugural number-one single being “Peek-a-Boo” by English alternative rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees.
People noted the presence of more independent artists on Modern Rock Tracks compared to its companion chart, Album Rock Tracks.
By the end of the decade, twenty-two singles had topped the chart.

This soundboard features music from the first 12 months of the ‘Modern Rock’ charts from it’s debut through 1989.

History Repeating –

MisterMusic returns to the PodCloud1 studio this September to mark the 5th autumn in a row on the ‘One for Great Music’ .

History may repeat, but this pod has a few crispy new entries for your listening pleasure!
New tunes from Beck, Angus & Julia Stone, and Pale Seas in this one.
Plus, a few classics pulled from our extensive music vault make this September’s segment one for the history books.

Focus On: The The –

The The are an English post-punk band that is actually the brainchild of musician Matt Johnson.

Although active in various forms since 1979, the mercurial Johnson is the only consistent member of the group. The The‘s sound is a mix of pop, alternative, post-punk and dance-rock influences. However, Johnson’s lyrics are often dark and controversial with many having a political theme. This juxtaposition of upbeat music with heavy lyrical content became the group’s trademark sound.

During the 80s and 90s, The The achieved critical acclaim and commercial success with the release of several hit albums and singles. This was particularly true in the UK where the band scored 15 chart singles with seven reaching the Top 40. Their most successful album, 1985’s Infected, spent 30 weeks on the chart. This was followed by the top ten albums Mind Bomb and Dusk. The The is also recognized for it’s innovative use of film and video. Johnson created several concert films during the band’s heyday. Although he focuses most of his time today on soundtrack work, Matt Johnson occasionally releases singles under the group name. The most recent of these was “We Can’t Stop What’s Coming “ which came out this past April for Record Store Day.

This pod features selections from several of The The’s eight studio albums.

Born in London on August 15,1961, singer/songwriter Matt Johnson was raised in the flat above his father’s pub, The Two Puddings, which was a haven for well-known celebrities and criminals. He also became exposed to music at the nightclubs and dance halls owned by his uncle. It was here he saw performers like Howlin’ Wolf, The Kinks, and Muddy Waters.

Johnson formed his first band named Roadstar when he was eleven. At the age of fifteen, he was hired as a tea boy for the Dewolfe Music Publishing Company which specialized in production library music. Within three years, he was working in DeWolfe’s recording studio as an assistant engineer. He also continued working in bands such as The Marble Index.

In November of 1977, Johnson placed an advertisement in the New Music Express asking for “a bass/lead guitarist into The Velvet Underground and Syd Barrett”. A few months later, Johnson placed a second advertisement in the NME stating his new influences were The Residents and Throbbing Gristle.

While trying to get this new band going, Johnson recorded a demo solo album titled See Without Being Seen in 1978 which he sold at various underground gigs on cassettes. In 1979, he began working with Colin Lloyd-Tucker who was a friend and colleague at De Wolfe Music. As The The was getting underway, Johnson was simultaneously working with Lloyd-Tucker in an experimental synth-pop combo called The Gadgets.

Later that year, Johnson recorded his first actual solo album titled Spirits. Although the album was not released, it contained the album track “What Stanley Saw” which was later licensed to Cherry Red Records for their Perspectives & Distortion compilation album.

The The made their live debut at London’s Africa Centre on May 11, 1979. They were third on the bill after Scritti Politti and Prag VEC. Johnson used backing tape tracks that he created at his day job at De Wolfe for the drums and bass. The band at this point consisted of Johnson on vocal, electric piano, guitar and tapes and Keith Laws on synthesizer and tapes. It was Laws who suggested the name ‘The The’ to Matt Johnson.

Peter Ashworth, who later became a noted photographer, joined The The’s as a drummer in 1980. Tom Johnston, who was also managing The The, was added on bass. The The released their debut single titled “Controversial Subject/Black And White” on 4AD Records. The recordings were produced by Bruce Gilbert and Graham Lewis of the group Wire. Although both Ashworth and Johnston were credited with appearing on the single, neither actually played on the recordings. All instruments were played by Johnson and Laws. Johnston and Ashworth soon dropped out of The The and returned to their respective day jobs. As a duo, Johnson and Laws began performing as The The. They appeared in concert with bands such as Wire, Cabaret Voltaire, DAF, This Heat, The Birthday Party and Scritti Politti.

In early 1981, The The contributed the song ‘Untitled’ to the Some Bizarre Album compilation. In September, The The signed a deal with Some Bizarre Records and released the 7″ single “Cold Spell Ahead”. By this time Matt Johnson had begun playing all the instruments himself so Laws left to pursue his studies. This left Johnson as a solo artist using a group moniker.

Later in 1981 Johnson was signed up by Ivo-Watts-Russell from 4AD Records to record a solo album which was titled Burning Blue Soul. Although all of the instruments and vocals were performed by Johnson, the album featured various producers including Wire’s Bruce Gilbert and Graham Lewis, Ivo and Johnson himself. Years later, due to a request from Johnson so that all of his albums would be in the same rack together, it would be re-issued and credited to The The.

With Johnson now freed from the politics of a permanent group line-up, he was able to take The The up to the next level spending the next few years collaborating with a diverse range of creative individuals, freely changing personnel from project to project.

The The’s next single was a retooling of “Cold Spell Ahead”, now entitled “Uncertain Smile”. It was produced in New York by Mike Thorne and it reached No. 68 in the UK. This version is different from the more familiar album version featuring sax and flute by session player Crispin Cioe rather than the piano of Squeeze’s Jools Holland.

In 1982, the intended debut album by The The titled The Pornography of Despair was recorded. However it was never officially mixed or released. Johnson ran off some cassette copies for friends and several tracks were subsequently re-recorded and issued as b-sides. But the original album remains unmixed and unissued. Steve James Sherlock played flute and saxophone on the re-recordings of “Three Orange Kisses From Kazan” and “Waitin’ For The Upturn”, two of the songs from the album which saw the light of day as b-sides.

In 1983 The The released their official debut album, the synth-noir classic Soul Mining. It contained the hit “This Is The Day”, as well as a new recording of “Uncertain Smile”. Produced by Johnson and Paul Hardiman, it featured guest appearances from Orange Juice’s drummer Zeke Manyika, Jools Holland, Thomas Leer and J.G. Thirlwell also known as Foetus. Over the years, Soul Mining has appeared on numerous lists as one of the best albums of the 1980s.

During The The’s more prolific period of album releases, from Soul Mining to Dusk, most artwork used on the albums and single releases was produced by Johnson’s brother Andrew Johnson, using the pseudonym Andy Dog. The artwork has a distinctive style, and sometimes courted controversy, most notably the initial release of the 1986 single “Infected” which featured a masturbating devil and was withdrawn from sale and re-issued with an edited version of the same drawing.

For the 1986 album Infected, The The still consisted only of Johnson. But the recording was augmented by session musicians and featured friends such as Manyika and Rip Rig + Panic singer Neneh Cherry. This album spawned four charting singles in the UK, notably “Heartland”, which made the UK Top 30.

Infected was accompanied by a full-length film. Costing hundreds of thousands of dollars, Infected: The Movie was shot on locations in Bolivia, Peru and New York. Different songs were directed by different directors, mainly Tim Pope and Peter ‘Sleazy’ Christopherson of Throbbing Gristle. Throughout 1986 and 1987, Johnson toured the world extensively showing the film in cinemas instead of performing live concerts. The film was also shown twice in its entirety on Channel 4 in the UK and on MTV’s 120 Minutes in the US.

In 1987 Johnson took some tentative steps back into performing live. While promoting Infected: The Movie in Australia, he had a chance encounter with Billy Bragg. Bragg persuaded him to return to Britain and support Red Wedge which was a coalition of like-minded musicians supporting the British Labor Party in its election campaign. Johnson agreed and enrolled longtime friend and collaborator Manyika to join him in performing shows in London featuring stripped down versions of the more political The The songs such as “Heartland”. This experience convinced Johnson to put a band together once again.

By 1988, The The was an actual band again. Johnson recruited ex-Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr, ex-Nick Lowe bassist James Eller and ex-ABC drummer David Palmer to join him as fully-fledged members. This line-up, plus guest singer Sinéad O’ Connor, recorded the album Mind Bomb, which debuted at No. 4 in the UK Albums Chart. It featured the band’s highest charting single to that time, “The Beat(en) Generation”, which peaked at No. 18 in the UK Singles Chart. The first single from Mind Bomb was actually scheduled to be “Armageddon Days Are Here (again)” but with its chorus of “Islam is rising, the Christians mobilizing” and sensitivities over the Salman Rushdie affair that had recently erupted, this song was deemed unsuitable for release by Epic/CBS.

Keyboardist D.C. Collard was added to the official line-up in 1989. Keyboard player Steve Hogarth, who’d played on Infected, had initially been asked to join but opted instead to become the new lead vocalist of Marillion. The band embarked on a lengthy world tour in 1989 and 1990 called The The Versus The World. A live film of the same name, directed by Tim Pope, was shot during three nights at London’s Royal Albert Hall at the end of the tour.

In 1990 the studio EP Shades of Blue was released. This included cover versions of Fred Neil’s “Dolphins” and Duke Ellington’s “Solitude”. It also included a new original song titled “Jealous of Youth” and a live version of “Another Boy Drowning” from Burning Blue Soul. This and a later EP of remixes, 1993’s Dis-infected, were compiled into a 1994 full-length album for the North American market called Solitude.

In 1993, the five-piece line-up issued the album Dusk, which debuted at No. 2 in the UK. It spun off three Top 40 singles in the UK, led by “Dogs of Lust”. Another world tour followed, the Lonely Planet tour, at which point the band’s line-up was reshuffled. Marr and Eller left, and were replaced by Atlanta-based guitarist Keith Joyner and New York bassist Jared Michael Nickerson after Johnson relocated the band to America. Also added was Boston harmonica player Jim Fitting of the band “Treat Her Right”. The version of their hit “This Is The Day” featuring Fitting was often dubbed “That Was The Day”. Palmer bowed out partway through the tour and was replaced by ex-Stabbing Westward drummer Andy Kubiszewski. This version of the band headlined the main stage at the 1993 Reading Festival.

Another full-length film, directed by longtime collaborator Tim Pope, was made for this album. From Dusk Til Dawn was shot in New Orleans and New York and along with Johnson and Johnny Marr also featured various characters from the New York underground scene such as sexologist Annie Sprinkle, writer and raconteur Quentin Crisp, Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa, and porn star Rick Savage amongst many other carnival characters.

Now permanently relocated to New York, The The’s next project was 1995’s Hanky Panky, an album that consisted entirely of Hank Williams cover tunes. Hanky Panky was recorded by a new group consisting of Johnson, Collard, Fitting, ex-Iggy Pop guitarist Eric Schermerhorn, ex-David Bowie bassist Gail Ann Dorsey, and drummer the “Reverend Brian MacLeod”. Their cover version of “I Saw The Light” hit No. 31 in the UK.

In 1997 an experimental album called Gun Sluts was recorded but left unreleased by the band after it was rejected for being too uncommercial by their label. The The severed their eighteen-year relationship with Sony and moved to Interscope on Trent Reznor’s Nothing Records imprint.

In 2000, The The, now consisting of Johnson, Schermerhorn, Nashville bassist Spencer Campbell and New Jersey drummer Earl Harvin, released the album Nakedself. Following the album’s release, the band embarked on yet another lengthy world tour lasting fourteen months titled The Naked Tour. Not counting soundtrack albums, Nakedself remains The The’s final released studio album to date.

This same line-up also recorded two new tracks, “Deep Down Truth”, featuring Angela McCluskey on vocals and “Pillar Box Red”. Both songs were produced by Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley for the 2002 compilation album 45 RPM: The Singles Of The The.

In June 2002 The The made a sole live appearance at the Meltdown Festival at London’s Royal Festival Hall as guests of David Bowie. At this point, the band consisted solely of Johnson and longtime friend and collaborator J.G. Thirlwell on tapes and loops, and young film director Benn Northover on film and video.

This was the last live performance by The The to date. Johnson has stated on the official The The web site that “There are no plans for one-off shows or tours in the near future but there will undoubtedly be another The The tour at some point.”

Since 2003 the reclusive Johnson has kept well away from the public eye and has concentrated primarily on soundtrack work, scoring numerous documentaries, films and art installations.

In May 2007 The The released a new download-only single on their web site. Titled “Mrs. Mac”, it was an autobiographical song about Johnson’s first day at school as a child in Stratford, East London. All instruments and vocals on the track were performed by Johnson.

A press release was issued along with this track, announcing a forthcoming The The album called The End of the Day with various songs from The The’s catalog being performed by some of Johnson’s favorite artists including Elysian Fields, J.G. Thirlwell, Thomas Leer, Elbow, Rob Ellis, John Parish, Anna Domino, Meja, Angela McCluskey, Ergo Phizmiz, “Rustin Man” aka Paul Webb among others. To date, the album remains a work in progress, although a preview can be heard at the band’s official site.

Since 2009 a new generation has been exposed to The The’s music through TV commercials. “This Is The Day” has been used extensively in high-profile advertising campaigns for Levi’s Dockers, M&M’s and Amazon. The The’s music continues to be used on British radio and television. In 2011 “This Is The Day” was covered by British band Manic Street Preachers receiving extensive radio play.

More recently Matt Johnson has created several new arms of The The included Cineloa which is a label created specifically for soundtrack and spoken word releases. Radio Cineloa is a 15-minute podcast downloadable from The The’s official website. It features previews of upcoming releases, works in progress, conversations with collaborators and previously unheard material from the vaults. Johnson has also started a book publishing company by the name of Fifty First State Press. The first release was a memoir by Matt’s dad about the Johnson family’s time owning one of East London’s most notorious pubs and music houses, The Two Puddings in Stratford.

In the spring of 2014, Sony announced that they planned to release a Soul Mining 30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition Boxset in the summer. The reissue was remastered by Matt Johnson at Abbey Road Studios.

In early 2015 Johnson told Uncut magazine that he was starting to write the first new vocal-based The The album since 2000’s NakedSelf.

The The released a brand new 7″ record called “We Can’t Stop What’s Coming” for 2017’s Record Store Day. The song, which premiered on a Radio Cineola broadcast, marked a collaboration once again with guitarist Johnny Marr. Johnson hinted that the song might be the first in a new album project. But no timetable for an official release has been announced.

These are forgotten tracks that will take you back to the days when FM radio was truly an art form. And, likely never be played on today’s preset definition of what is “Classic Rock”.

70’s Deep Tracks – the return of album rock…Podcloud1 style!

The south rises again with another installment of 70s watermelon boogie

featuring The Marshall Tucker Band, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Grinderswitch, The Outlaws, Pure Prairie League and The Ozark Mountain Daredevils. Plus a solo track from Allman Brothers Band guitarist Richard Betts.
A couple of “stoner” classics by Jonathan Edwards and The New Riders Of The Purple Sage round out this pod of down south jukin’.

The Sixties -vol. 21 – (the final volume)-

We’ve saved the best for last as our popular soundboard series draws to a close.

This pod focuses on the year 1969 featuring songs from some of the biggest names in rock.
Music from Led Zeppelin, Bob Dylan, The Doors, Deep Purple, The Who, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Rolling Stones, Crosby, Stills and Nash, The Bob Seger System, and Joe Cocker. Plus a grand finale to the decade from the group that had the biggest influence-The Beatles.

Volume 21 is the last of ”The 60’s” series. See the Monthly Archives for previous episodes going all the way back to 2013!

Fresh Fruit Salad –

Join PeeperD as he mixes up a tasty musical fruit salad for the ears!

Featuring songs from Poi Dog Pondering, UB40, The Smashing Pumpkins, Widespread Panic, Marcia Ball, Pure, Meat Puppets and The Presidents Of The United States of America. Plus a classic from the 70s by Harry Nilsson.

Nutritious and delicious! Add this one to the menu for your next picnic or BBQ.

Focus On: Wilco & Son Volt –

When alternative country band Uncle Tupelo broke up in 1994, two groups rose from the ashes. Jay Farrar, one of the band’s two singer/songwriters, went on to form Son Volt while his ex-partner Jeff Tweedy established Wilco with Tupelo’s remaining members. Although they debuted as a rough-and-tumble alt-country act, Wilco quickly evolved into a mature and eclectic indie rock ensemble.

Over the course of ten studio albums as well as numerous side projects, Wilco has become one of the most influential alternative-indie bands on the music scene today.

Meanwhile, Jay Farrar has pursued his vision of neo-traditional country music in a variety of ways. Starting with three albums recorded with the original line-up of his band Son Volt, Farrar has also released several solo albums and film soundtracks over the course of his career. Additionally, he’s collaborated with artists such as My Morning Jacket’s Jim James, Varnaline’s Anders Parker and Ben Gibbard from Death Cab For Cutie.

Since he revived Son Volt in 2005, the line-up of the group has changed frequently. But Farrar’s musical vision and trademark vocals have been the one constant. Over the course of five albums, he’s explored different styles including roots, blues, country and honky-tonk.

At first, the heavily publicized and acrimonious breakup of Uncle Tupelo left Farrar in a sort of competition with the more ambitious Wilco led by Tweedy. The fact that the offshoots’ first few albums came out concurrently seemed to heighten the sense of competition to fans and critics. But, as the two artists have meandered further into new and different directions over the years that sense of competition has become meaningless.

These two pods pick up the Wilco and Son Volt stories where last month’s Focus On left off. It contains selections from each of the band’s remaining studio albums.

These are forgotten tracks that will take you back to the days when FM radio was truly an art form. And, likely never be played on today’s preset definition of what is “Classic Rock”.

70’s Deep Tracks – the return of album rock…Podcloud1 style!

This edition of our popular soundboard series lightens things up a bit!
Music from Paul McCartney, Al Stewart, The Guess Who, Manfred Mann’s Earth Band,
Crosby, Stills,Nash & Young, and McGuinn,Hillman & Clark.
Plus a couple of lost classics from Hog Heaven and The Five Man Electrical Band.

Whodunnit vol. 7 –

It’s the pod that challenges your musical knowledge.

Join host PeeperD as he spins songs not performed by the original artist. This edition features songs popularized in the 70s and 80s by artists like Jimmy Cliff, Ringo Starr,
The Cars, Van Morrison, Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, The Style Council
and Cheap Trick.

See if you can figure out Whodunnit?

The PeeperD Protocol –

Who says there ain’t no cure for the summertime blues?

PeeperD’s got the prescription for what ails you. Fresh sounds from alt-J and Strand Of Oaks. Plus a new remix from the 30th anniversary deluxe re-issue of U2’s The Joshua Tree. Classic tracks from Jimi Hendrix, Uncle Tupelo and The New Riders of The Purple Sage. And salute to the late Gregg Allman rounds out the set.
Background tracks from the new concept album by St. Etienne fill in the breaks.PeeperD’s musical protocol is guaranteed to lift your spirits and raise your consciousness!

Focus On: Uncle Tupelo –

Uncle Tupelo was one of the leaders of the alternative country movement of the late 80s and early 90s.
Their blend of punk and country music electrified audiences during their brief career. Although they only released four albums, Uncle Tupelo’s influence has been enormous.

The drama surrounding feuding songwriters Jay Farrar and Jeff Tweedy could be the subject of a Hollywood film. With fights both on-stage and off, it’s amazing the band survived as long as it did. Just at the edge of major-label success, Farrar decided to call it quits.
As both musicians formed solo bands, the sense of competition just increased.They each released their debut albums within a few months of each other. Although Son Volt won the first round, Wilco has gone on to be the bigger band.

Join host PeeperD for this extended edition of Focus On that examines the short-lived career of Uncle Tupelo and the splinter groups that resulted from its breakup-Wilco and Son Volt.

Uncle Tupelo was an alternative country music group from Belleville, Illinois that was active between 1987 and 1994. Formed by Jay Farrar, Jeff Tweedy and Mike Heidorn, the trio recorded three albums for Rockville Records, before signing with Sire Records and expanding to a five-piece outfit.
Uncle Tupelo’s sound was unlike popular country music of the time, drawing inspiration from styles as diverse as the hardcore punk of The Minutemen and the country instrumentation and harmony of the Carter Family and Hank Williams. Farrar and Tweedy’s lyrics frequently referred to Middle America and the working class of Belleville.
Tensions between Farrar and Tweedy simmered throughout the band’s existence. Shortly after the release of the band’s major label debut album Anodyne, Farrar announced his decision to leave the band due to a soured relationship between the two songwriters. Uncle Tupelo split on May 1, 1994, after completing a farewell tour.
Although Uncle Tupelo broke up before it achieved commercial success, the band is renowned for its impact on the alternative country music scene. The group’s first album, No Depression, became a byword for the genre and was widely influential.
Following the breakup, Tweedy convinced the remaining members to join him in a new band called Wilco. Meanwhile, Farrar re-united with Heidorn and other musicians to form Son Volt. Because of the heavily publicized breakup between the founders of these two bands, critics and fans created a sort of imaginary competition.
The notion of this adversarial contest was furthered by their first few albums coming out within months of each other.
But while Wilco has slowly grown into a true band over the years, Son Volt has always been yet another vehicle for Jay Farrar to explore his creative muse.

These are forgotten tracks that will take you back to the days when FM radio was truly an art form. And, likely never be played on today’s preset definition of what is “Classic Rock”.

70’s Deep Tracks – the return of album rock…Podcloud1 style!

A great grab bag of music from the 70s featuring some of the biggest stars along with some lesser-known bands. Featuring Aerosmith, Sweet, Alice Cooper, Mott The Hoople and 10cc. Plus lost gems from Head East, The Motors, and Ironhorse.

Robots –

The robots are taking over PodCloud1 on this soundboard !

Various circuits are connected in the mix, including Weezer, Connie Francis,
The Buggles, The Flaming Lips, Styx, Flight of the Conchords, Fran Healy,
The Red Hot Chili Peppers, and of course Robo-Germans Kraftwerk.Plug your transistors into this mechanical mix…It’s only 34 of your human minutes!

The 60’s vol. 20 –

As the decade draws to a close, the music just gets better and better!

This pod features songs from 1969 with Sly & The Family Stone, Grand Funk Railroad, The Box Tops, Simon & Garfunkel, Dusty Springfield,Edwin Starr, Nilsson, Smith and Tommy James & The Shondells.
Plus The Fifth Dimension perform one of the biggest songs of the 60s from the Broadway musical Hair!

You’ll be ‘Feeling It’ as this mix cascades from your speakers & headphones!

Focus On: Kings of Leon –

Kings of Leon is an American alternative rock band that was formed in Nashville, Tennessee in 1999.

The band’s early sound was a blend of Southern and garage rock influences. Throughout the years it has gradually expanded to include a variety of styles resulting in a more alternative arena-rock sound. Over the course of almost two decades and seven studio albums, they have grown to become one of the biggest bands on the current music scene.

The group is a family affair comprised of brothers Caleb Followill on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Nathan on drums, percussion and backing vocals, Jared on bass and backing vocals,and their cousin Matthew Followill handling lead guitar and backing vocals.

Kings of Leon achieved initial success in the UK with nine Top 40 singles, two Brit Awards in 2008, and all three of the band’s albums at the time peaked in the top five of the UK Albums Chart. Their third album, Because Of The Times, reached the number one spot. But, after the release of their fourth album, Only By The Night, in 2008, the band finally achieved chart success in the US with three singles that peaked at number one on the Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart. Kings of Leon took home three Grammy Awards that year.

The group wrestled with sobriety issues resulting in a year-long hiatus in 2012. But since their return, they’ve continued to record and tour with increasing success. Their latest album, WALLS, was released last fall and they are currently on tour in support of it.

This pod contains selections from each of Kings Of Leon’s studio albums.

The three Followill brothers grew up in Oklahoma and Tennessee with their father, Ivan Followill, a United Pentecostal Church preacher, and their mother, Betty-Ann. While Ivan preached at churches and tent revivals throughout Oklahoma and the Deep South, the boys attended services and were occasionally enlisted to bang on some drums. They were either home-schooled by their mother, or enrolled in small parochial schools at this time. Except for a five-year period when they settled in Jackson, Tennessee, the Followills’ childhoods were spent driving through the southern United States in a purple 1988 Oldsmobile, camping for a week or two wherever Ivan was scheduled to preach.

When the boys’ father resigned from preaching and their parents divorced in 1997, Nathan and Caleb relocated to outside Nashville and originally embraced country music. While there, they met songwriter Angelo Petraglia, who helped the siblings hone their songwriting skills. He introduced them to the musical influences of Thin Lizzy, The Rolling Stones and, in particular, The Clash. Their youngest brother, Jared, who had briefly attended public school, was more influenced by the music of the Pixies and The Velvet Underground. When he and their cousin Matthew also moved to Nashville in 1999, Kings of Leon was formed. They named the band after their grandfather Leon, who died in January 2014.

By 2002, Nathan and Caleb had received interest from a number of music labels and eventually signed with RCA Records. The label initially insisted on putting a band together to back the two of them. In an interview with Billboard, however, Nathan outlined how they told RCA, “We don’t want to be Evan and Jaron. We’re going to buy our little brother a bass, he’s a freshman in high school. Caleb will teach himself the guitar, Matthew played guitar when he was 10 and I’ll play the drums. They said, ‘All right, we’ll come down in one month and see you guys.'”

Later in the interview Caleb admitted to the brothers “kidnapping” their cousin Matthew from his hometown in Mississippi for him to join the band. They told his mother that he was only going to be staying for a week but never allowed him to return home. “We locked ourselves in the basement with an ounce of marijuana and literally spent a month down there. My mom would bring us food down”, added Nathan. “And at the end of that month the label people came and we had “Molly’s Chambers”, “California Waiting”, “Wicker Chair”, and “Holy Roller Novocaine”.

Kings Of Leon’s first record, an EP titled Holy Roller Novocaine, was released in February of 2003. At this stage, Jared was only 16 years old and had not yet learned to play the bass. All of the songs released on the EP were co-written by Angelo Petraglia, who also produced the record. The EP’s release gave the band a significant amount of exposure when it received a 4 out of 5 star rating from Rolling Stone Magazine. The group was sent to California with Petraglia to record a full album. Working with producer Ethan Johns, they recorded at Sound City Studios in Los Angeles and Shangri-La Studios in Malibu. Besides the new material they’d written, different versions of four of the songs from the EP would be included.

Their debut full-length album, Youth And Young Manhood, was released in July 2003 in the UK and a month later in the US. According to Rolling Stone, the band’s retro-chic look and blend of Southern boogie and gritty garage rock inspired comparisons to both Lynyrd Skynyrd and The Strokes. The album became a sensation in the UK and Ireland, where NME declared it “one of the best debut albums of the last 10 years”. The Guardian described the band as “the kind of authentic, hairy rebels The Rolling Stones longed to be”.

However, the album failed to make any significant impact in the US. Reviews were lukewarm and the modern rock audience was generally uninterested. But, a decade later,Youth And Young Manhood was ranked at number 80 in Rolling Stone’s Top 100 Albums of the Decade list.

The band toured both North America and the UK that summer to promote the album. Their appearance with long hair, mustaches and tight-fitting denim played into the revivalist tag critics were hanging on them. Thanks to the success of the single “Molly’s Chambers”, Kings Of Leon quickly returned to the studio after the tour to work on their follow-up album.

Aha Shake Heartbreak was released in the UK in October of 2004 and in the United States in February 2005. Building on the Southern-infused garage rock of their first record, the album broadened the band’s domestic and international audience. It was again produced by Angelo Petraglia and Ethan Johns. “The Bucket”, “Four Kicks”, and “King Of The Rodeo” were all released as singles, with “The Bucket” rising into the Top 20 in Britain. The band also garnered accolades from several of their rock peers touring with U2, Bob Dylan and Pearl Jam during 2005 and 2006. These highly visible gigs helped increase the band’s popularity immensely.

Kings Of Leon’s third album was titled Because Of The Times. It was released in April of 2007. It was preceded by the single “On Call”, which became a hit in the UK and Ireland. The album debuted at number one in the UK and Ireland and entered the European charts at number 25, selling approximately 70,000 copies in its first week of release. The sound was darker and less pop-oriented leaning even further toward a hybrid of post-punk and prog rock. Critical opinion was mixed. Although some critics lauded it, others found the album inferior to their previous efforts. One critic said that “the band was experimenting and learning but also getting a bit lost in the process”. At the end of the year however, the record appeared on numerous top ten lists for album of the year. NME was quoted as saying “Because Of The Times cements Kings Of Leon as one of the great American bands of our times.” It ultimately peaked at number 25 on the US charts.

In September of 2008, Kings of Leon released its fourth studio album, Only By The Night, which marked the band’s fastest turnaround between albums. It furthered the new sound of their previous album pushing the band away from the southern rock tag they had initially inherited. With radio-friendly melodies and ringing guitars, the band was now drawing comparisons to U2’s anthemic style. The album entered the UK Albums Chart at number one and remained there for one more week. In the US, the album reached number four on the Billboard 200. Reception to the record was the most polarized yet. Older fans were not pleased that the band were shaving their beards and discovering post-70s rock. The group was evolving to a bigger arena-rock sound which, in turn, was attracting a newer fan base. The British press gave the album glowing reviews while reactions to it were mixed in the US.

The record was officially named as the UK’s third-biggest-selling album of 2008 and the biggest-selling album of 2008 in Australia. “Sex On Fire” was the first single released for download in the UK. It became the band’s most successful as it peaked at number one in the UK, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand. They won Best International Band and Best International Album at the Brit Awards in 2009, where they also performed “Use Somebody” live. Only By The Night was certified Platinum in the United States by the RIAA for selling one million copies less than a year after its release. As evidence of their growing popularity, Kings of Leon headlined the Glastonbury Music Festival in 2008.

The following year saw the group step up to the next level. They headlined a number of major music festivals including Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits and Sasquatch in the US and Reading & Leads, Rock Werchter, Oxegen, T in the Park and Gurtenfestival in the UK and Europe. Kings Of Leon released their first DVD in November titled Live At The O2 London, England, which was filmed before a sold-out crowd of more than 18,000 fans on June 30, 2009. In an interview with Billboard.com, drummer Nathan stated, “England is really the first place we broke. We figured what better place to make a live DVD than where the fans have been the craziest for the longest.” 2009 also saw Kings of Leon founding their own record label titled Serpents and Snakes Records. Capping a major year, on January 31, 2010, Kings of Leon took home three Grammy Awards for Record of the Year, Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal and Best Rock Song for “Use Somebody” at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards.

The group entered Manhattan’s Avatar Studios to begin work on their next album for a few months in the spring. Afterwards they returned to the road in the summer of 2010 visiting more than 50 cities in North America and Europe. The four-month tour was an opportunity to hone some of the new material in concert. However, it did not go as planned.

In June, while the band headlined the Slane Castle festival in Ireland, they were informed of the death of their uncle Cleo. A month later during a concert in Dallas, singer Caleb Followill appeared to be heavily intoxicated and slurred incomprehensibly between songs often rambling about nothing. He left the stage, claiming he was going to vomit, drink a beer and return to play three more songs. He never returned, causing the rest of the band to apologize to the crowd and end the concert abruptly. On August 1, 2011, the band announced through their website that the remainder of their US tour would be canceled with no reschedules due to dates they already had scheduled.

The group’s new single, “Radioactive”, had already been released. The album, which was titled Come Around Sundown, was released in October. On October 31, 2011, the band announced that after the conclusion of their Australian tour in November that they would be going on hiatus. Nathan stated that the band’s hiatus should not take any longer than six months.

In the spring of 2013, bassist Jared Followill confirmed that the band had finished recording their sixth LP, Mechanical Bull. The album’s first single, titled “Supersoaker”, was released in July. A second single “Wait For Me” was released in the UK in August debuting at number 31. The album was finally released in late September. It reached number two on the Billboard 200 and was nominated for a Grammy for Best Rock Album.

The group set off on a massive tour to support the new album which lasted through 2015. Following their New Year’s Eve show in Nashville, Nathan Followill said that the band was aiming to release album number seven in 2016: “We’ve already started pre-production in our studio for the next record, but the main thing on the calendar for 2016 is getting the record finished.” Caleb added: “We enjoy this part of the process. Obviously there’s a lot of work that goes into it and it can get stressful at times, but we’re all in a good place and we’re having fun with it and we’re all excited to do something new.”

The band returned to L.A. teaming up with producer Markus Dravs known for his work with Florence + The Machine, Arcade Fire and Mumford and Sons. The goal was to avoid the trap of predictability that had come with their massive success. To achieve this, the group took a looser, less critical approach to recording. They experimented with different influences like 80s new wave and afro-pop, as well as keyboard textures from touring member Liam O’Neill. In August, Kings Of Leon announced that album would be titled We Are Like Love Songs (aka WALLS), and that it would be released in October. The first single, “Waste A Moment”, came out in September. That same month, they played the Saturday evening headlining slot at the Lollapalooza Europe music festival in Berlin featuring new material from the album.

Upon the record’s release, critics said it struck a nice balance between the garage rock passion of their earlier work and the large scale bombast that had made them stars. It reached number one on the Billboard 200 albums chart, the first album of the group’s to have earned that coveted spot selling 77,000 copies in its first week alone. It was ranked at number 37 on NME’s Albums of the Year list. On January 12th, 2017, Kings Of Leon began a year-long tour in support of the album. After wrapping the spring portion, the band is currently playing UK and European dates throughout the summer before returning to North America this fall with special guest Dawes.

These are forgotten tracks that will take you back to the days when FM radio was truly an art form. And, likely never be played on today’s preset definition of what is “Classic Rock”.

70’s Deep Tracks – the return of album rock…Podcloud1 style!

Later in the 70s, punk rock began to make waves across the radio dial. This pod gives you a taste of this exciting musical movement.
Early songs from The Pretenders, Patti Smith, Nick Lowe, The Police, The New York Dolls, Mink DeVille, Nils Lofgren and Marianne Faithfull.

Scream & Shout –

This soundboard will make you scream, shout, yell, and holler.

Featuring music from Tears For Fears, The Cranberries, The Isley Brothers,
Kiss, Billy Idol, Metric, Van Morrison, The Cure, and The Beatles.Sounds crazy, right? it will work itself out…just turn it up!

Whodunnit vol. 6 –

It’s the game pod that tests your musical knowledge.

Join host PeeperD as he lays down a playlist of hits you’ll love. The twist is that they’re not performed by the original artist.
It’s a mix of classic songs popularized by Bob Dylan, REM, Tears For Fears, Britney Spears, Ozzy Osborne, Richard Thompson, The Turtles, and Sam & Dave.

Your challenge is to figure out “Whodunnit?”

Extra-Wide –

As part of our Jamboree month, this pod is a companion to our latest Focus On featuring Widespread Panic.

One of the best parts of a Panic show is the obscure cover songs they break out.
This soundboard features a selection of those tunes performed by the original artists.
Songs from Talking Heads, JJ Cale, The Grateful Dead, Blind Faith, The Meters, Cat Stevens, Funkadelic, Vic Chesnutt, Pops Staples, General Echo, Alan Price and Jerry Joseph.

It’s an Extra-Widespread Panic soundboard!

Jammin’ All Day –

It’s Podcloud1’s Jamboree Month!

If you’re not familiar with jam bands, this pod is a great introduction. Join Jamboree master of ceremonies PeeperD as he features some of the biggest bands of the scene like Phish, The Grateful Dead, Umphrey’s McGee and The Dave Matthews Band.
New music from The String Cheese Incident, Gov’t Mule and The Tedeschi Trucks Band. Plus a look at the summer festival schedule so you can make your travel plans.

Take your speakers outside, crank it up and you’ve got your own personal jam session.

Focus On: Widespread Panic –

Since their beginnings in Athens, Georgia in 1986, Widespread Panic has risen to elite status among American jam bands.

Following in the steps of other Southern rock jam bands like The Allman Brothers Band, Panic draws from a variety of influences such as rock, blues, funk, soul, and country. Although they have released twelve studio albums throughout their career, it is through their live performances that have built a loyal following selling out venues around North America. In fact, they hold the record for the most sold-out performances at several venues including the historic Red Rocks Amphitheater.

Known for never playing the same show twice, the band has a ritual for choosing each night’s set list. Although losing two of their founding members over the years, the group overcame these hurdles and continued to grow in popularity.

As the band enters its fourth decade, they’re taking time to enjoy life. Panic recently announced that they’ll only be playing select festivals and a limited number of special event shows from now on. This reduced schedule will allow members to enjoy more time with their families as well as pursue solo projects. However, the group has indicated the desire to continue to write and record together when the time is right.

This jam-sized pod contains selections from each of Widespread Panic’s twelve studio albums.

Bio:
The starting point of Widespread Panic can be traced back to 1981 when John Bell and Michael Houser met in their dorm at the University of Georgia. Bell had been playing guitar as a solo act, and invited Houser, also a guitarist, to join him.They began living together and collaborating on music, writing songs that would later become Panic staples such as “Driving Song” and “Chilly Water”. A few years later they met bassist Dave Schools. In February of 1986, Houser called childhood friend, drummer Todd Nance, to sit in with the trio for a charity event in Athens which became their first show as “Widespread Panic.”The band was named for Houser’s once-frequent panic attacks. Texan percussionist Domingo “Sunny” Ortiz began sitting in with the band regularly later that same year.

The group played in fraternities and bars regularly slowly building a loyal following. In 1987, they signed a contract with Landslide Records and went to work on their debut album. They recorded at John Keane’s studio in Athens, which marked the start of a life-long friendship and collaboration with Keane. In September of the same year they released their first album titled Space Wrangler, which included many of the songs they’d been honing over the past decade. After the album came out, they began touring beyond the Athens area expanding to include additional northeastern dates, along with Texas, Colorado, the west coast, and internationally to Vancouver, Canada. During these tours in 1988 and 89, Sunny Ortiz joined the band as a full-time member. Keyboardist Terry “T” Lavitz, known for his work with The Dixie Dregs, played with the group during some of these dates as well.

After coming off the road, Widespread Panic returned to John Keane’s studio to write new material in September of 1990. These sessions, called Mom’s Kitchen, produced the majority of songs intended to comprise their second album, along with other tracks that would become important parts of the band’s live repertoire like “Conrad The Caterpillar, “A of D”, “Machine” and “Impossible”. However, Mom’s Kitchen was never released because the band signed a six album deal with Capricorn Records in January of 1991.

At the label’s suggestion, Panic re-recorded much of the material at larger studios like Emerald Sound in Nashville, Kiva Studios in Memphis and Duck Tape in Decatur, Alabama. Released in July of 1991, their major label debut was simply titled Widespread Panic. In addition to the core group, T Lavitz sat in on keyboards. Later that year, the band filmed two performances at the Georgia Theatre in Athens. This resulted in a movie, directed by Billy Bob Thornton, titled Widespread Panic: Live from the Georgia Theatre.

As Panic began to tour more, John “Jojo” Hermann from the roots rock band Beanland joined the group as a keyboardist in March 1992 replacing T Lavitz. The band continued to tour throughout the entire US in 1992 joining the famous HORDE tour with Blues Traveler, Phish and long-time friend Col Bruce Hampton’s Aquarium Unit, among others. During this time, Capricorn Records re-released Space Wrangler with two additional tracks from the Mom’s Kitchen sessions and a one-take version of “Me & The Devil Blues/Heaven” from the band’s audition session that resulted in their major label deal.

Upon returning from the HORDE tour, Panic settled in to Muscle Shoals Sound in Alabama in November to begin work on their next album. The sessions lasted roughly five weeks and, in March of 1993, they released their third record Everyday. It was the group’s first recording to feature Jojo Hermann on keyboards. The album’s cover featured the girlfriend of Billy Bob Thornton-a young Angelina Jolie. It contained many of the songs which have become the group’s most-loved show stoppers. Despite very limited radio airplay, Everyday is considered by fans to be one of Panic’s best albums. It peaked at number 184 on the Billboard 200.

In 1994, Widespread Panic began work on their next album by recording rehearsals at John Keane’s home studio like they had done for Space Wrangler. They were so pleased with the results that they decided to use the sessions for the new album instead of going into a major studio to re-record. The album, titled Ain’t Life Grand, was released in September, 1994. As a sign of their rising fortunes, the group performed the title track live on Good Morning America from Morehouse College in Atlanta. They also began to receive radio airplay with their cover of Bloodkin’s “Can’t Get High” as well as their own song “Airplane”. The album was their highest charting to date, peaking at number 84 on Billboard.

After spending the better part of 1995 on the road in support of Ain’t Life Grand, Panic returned to John Keane’s studio in July of 1996 to begin work on their fifth album Bombs And Butterflies. The band held a pre-release party in Athens on December 28th, 1996, one day prior to a New Year’s Eve run of shows at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta. The album was released in February of 1997, reaching a peak position of number 50. It contained a cover of the Pops Staples song “Hope In A Hopeless World” which became a hit on rock radio charting at number 13. In June, the group performed the song “Aunt Avis” on Late Night with Conan O’Brien. Two days later, the music video for the song, directed by Billy Bob Thornton, premiered on VH1. It featured Athens singer/songwriter and band friend Vic Chesnutt who had written the song. Widespread Panic was beginning to reach a larger audience.

On April 18, 1998, to celebrate the release of their first live album, Light Fuse, Get Away, Widespread Panic offered a free “CD release party” concert in Athens Georgia. An estimated 80,000–100,000 fans descended on the town, transforming it into one of the largest CD release parties in history. This show was later released as a concert video/CD titled Panic In The Streets. The album was recorded at various shows during their 1997 tour. It included several previously unreleased songs which dated as far back as the Mom’s Kitchen sessions. It also featured a collaboration with saxophonist Branford Marsalis on the song “Pickin’ Up The Pieces”. The album peaked at number 67.

In January of 1999, Panic once again returned to John Keane’s studio to work on their next studio album. This time the goal was to make a more concise and focused recording. Working with special guests The Dirty Dozen Brass Band and gospel singer Dottie Peoples, the band released the twelve-song album ‘Til The Medicine Takes in July, 1999. The title refers to a line in the song “Blue Indian”. Although it reached number 68 on the charts, it marked the last record of the band’s six album deal with Capricorn Records.

By the turn of the century, Widespread Panic had been going strong for over a decade building a large following through consistent touring. What had started at fraternity parties had grown to larger arenas and venues. In the summer and fall of 1999, Panic had toured in support of ‘Til The Medicine Takes with The Dirty Dozen Brass Band. After their deal with Capricorn ended, they formed their own label, Widespread Records. The label’s debut recording was a live album released in June of 2000 featuring highlights from these shows titled Another Joyous Evening.

Throughout 2000, the group worked on it’s seventh studio album at John Keane’s studio incorporating elements of Latin, grunge and soul to its signature sound. Randall Bramblett, a solo musician and member of Steve Winwood’s touring band, played tenor sax on a cover of Firehose’s “Sometimes”. The record also featured Jojo Hermann’s long-time crowd favorite “Big Wooly Mammoth”. The album peaked at number 57 on the Billboard 200 chart as well as number 12 on the Top Internet Albums of the Year. But Widespread Panic’s fortunes were about to change.

In early 2002, founding guitarist Michael Houser was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Houser continued to perform with the band into the middle of that year, but following a performance on July 2, 2002 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa he left the tour because of his declining health. Guitarist George McConnell, a former bandmate of JoJo Hermann’s in Beanland, took over as lead guitarist for the remainder of the band’s scheduled dates. Michael Houser died on August 10, 2002.

Not all of the news was bad in 2002. The band received gold certification for their concert DVD Live at Oak Mountain. They also headlined two nights of the first annual Bonnaroo Music Festival which drew a crowd upwards of 70,000 people. In June, they released a sprawling three-disc live album titled Live In The Classic City which was recorded over a three-night run in their hometown of Athens in April, 2000. It featured a mix of originals and covers with guest performances from Derek Trucks, Bruce Hampton and former REM drummer Bill Berry.

In response to Houser’s death, the band took some time off and then retreated into the studio to re-group. They began recording songs for what would be their next album with McConnell on lead guitar. But the circumstances around these sessions dictated a different approach. Panic’s previous studio albums had included songs already familiar to fans through concert performances. But this record would be comprised of never-before-heard songs written specifically for the album with the exception of two tunes. It was also the first Widespread Panic album which did not feature at least one cover song.

The band kept the album under wraps until its release so anticipation ran high amongst fans. Released in April of 2003, the album was titled Ball. It was the most ambitious and refined record they had ever recorded. Working once again with John Keane, they refined their songwriting chops and produced the tightest and most glossy recording yet. The band set out on a long tour to promote the album while trying to re-invent their live performances without Houser’s trademark guitar drone.

Late in 2003, the band announced that they would be taking a hiatus from both recording and performing in 2004. However, 2004 did see the release of three live albums: Night Of Joy and Uber Cobra-both of which were recorded during a November 2003 three-night run of shows at the House Of Blues in Myrtle Beach-as well as Jackassolantern, a compilation of cover songs performed during the band’s Halloween shows over the years. A third release from the Myrtle Beach shows, Live At Myrtle Beach was released in early 2005.

In January 2006, the band recorded their 9th studio album, Earth To America, in Nassau, Bahamas at Compass Point Studios, with Terry Manning producing. It was released in June of 2006. Their May 9 show at Atlanta’s Fox Theatre was simulcast, via satellite, in select movie theaters nationwide. Over 60,000 fans across the country watched it live in the theaters. This show was also released in DVD format in November titled Earth To Atlanta.

Just as Panic was regaining their stride, circumstances changed again. On August 2, 2006, nearing the end of the summer tour, the band announced that George McConnell had left the band, making his July 30 appearance at the Fox Theater in St. Louis his last. Producer John Keane and former guitar technician Sam Holt filled in on guitar for the remaining two weeks of the tour. In late 2006, Fayetteville, NC native Jimmy Herring took over the lead guitar spot for the fall tour with three nights at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Panic’s seventh annual New Year’s shows on December 30 and 31, 2007, marked their 15th and 16th sellout performance at Philips Arena.

The band released their tenth studio album, Free Somehow, in February of 2008. It, too, was recorded with producer Terry Manning at Compass Point Studios. Following the release of the new studio album, Widespread Panic began to release vintage concert performances from the Widespread Panic Archives. The band continues to dig into their show archives, which encompass the past 25 years, releasing various shows via their website.

June 27, 2008, marked the band’s 32nd sold-out show at the historic Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado. This was more than any other band in the venue’s history. Mayor John Hickenlooper proclaimed Friday, June 27 “Widespread Panic Day” in the City and County of Denver. The same year, Widespread Panic was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall Of Fame in September. The band continued to tour throughout the rest of 2008 and the spring of 2009. In the summer, they teamed up with fellow southern rockers, The Allman Brothers, to do a summer and fall co-headlining tour.

Later that year, Panic began working on their next studio album. This record signaled the return of John Keane as producer as the band came back to their hometown of Athens to record. Songs on the album ranged from road-tested classics like Jerry Joseph’s “North”, Todd Nance’s vocal debut on “Clinic Cynic” and “Visiting Day” to new originals as well as the latest in a long line of Vic Chesnutt covers “This Cruel Thing”. In March 2010, it was announced that Widespread Panic would be releasing a new album titled Dirty Side Down in May. 2010 would also see the release of Live In The Classic City II containing more music from the legendary 2000 shows.

On September 29, 2010, keyboardist Jojo Herman announced that the band would be going on hiatus in 2012. In an interview with the Vanderbilt Hustler, Herman explained, “Next year will be our 25th anniversary. After that, we’re probably going to call it (quits) for awhile. So we’re looking forward to next year and going out on a high note.” The band went on to tour steadily throughout 2011.

In early 2012, the band played a limited number of shows. From January to February the band embarked on their first ever tour billed as completely acoustic. Dubbed the Wood Tour, it spawned two recordings from the Wood Tour which were released in 2012, a special Record Store Day-only vinyl record titled Live Wood in April and later Wood, in October. Between the two short legs that comprised the Wood Tour, the band played a four-night run in Mexico, marking their first shows in the country, and beginning what would become an annual tradition called Panic en la Playa.

The rest of 2012 saw the band on hiatus but band members were active with other projects. Dave Schools toured with the Mickey Hart Band, Jimmy Herring recorded a new album and toured with his own band, and Jojo Hermann played shows with the Missing Cats, occasionally opening and sitting in with the North Mississippi Allstars. On August 17, the band announced their first scheduled shows after hiatus, including two nights in Charlotte, NC and a four-night return to the Dominican Republic in 2013.

The band returned to regular touring in the spring of 2013 with a run of Mid-West and Southern shows beginning in April. During these shows, the band introduced new innovations in the audio broadcast of their live performance. Previously, Panic had allowed tapers to use audience recording devices to simulcast live shows to fans via the internet. But now the band took over streaming duties and started broadcasting live soundboard recordings of their shows.

2014 saw a return of Wood Tour, with the band playing six all-acoustic theater shows, as well as a special Wood performance held 333 feet underground in the Volcano Room at Cumberland Caverns in McMinville, TN for a taping of an episode of PBS’ Bluegrass Underground. After this, the band plugged back in playing a number of dates for the rest of the year. But more changes were coming.

On October 2, 2014, the band announced that Duane Trucks was joining the band for 2014 fall tour as drummer Todd Nance would be taking time off to attend to personal matters. As the calendar turned to 2015, Panic entered the studio again to work on what would be their twelfth studio album. Although Todd Nance received co-writing credits on every song, Duane Trucks was the drummer for the sessions. The album was titled Street Dogs and it was released in September.

Nance reunited with the band for 2016’s Panic En La Playa shows in Mexico. However, on February 9, 2016, the band announced that Todd Nance was leaving the band and that, “Duane [Trucks] will be the drummer for Widespread Panic moving forward.” In April of 2016, Jojo Hermann announced that the band will stop touring extensively at the end of the year. However, he said that the band is not breaking up and will continue to make festival appearances and perform shows at select venues such as Red Rocks.

Fresh Catch-vol. 6-

It’s a meeting of the musical minds again!

Your hosts MisterMusic and PeeperD present new music that caught there ears.
Volume 6 features new tunes by Thurston Moore, Hurray For The Riff Raff, Dan Auerbach,
Portugal.The Man, Future Islands, BNQT, and The New Pornographers.

Jamie’s Announcement-

PeeperD presents a pod that has it all!

New music from Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit, Spoon and The Shins. A salute to guitarist J. Geils. And, a classic hip-shaker from Jackie Wilson. Tunes from
Arrested Development, Bell X1, and Alice Peacock. Plus, show producer Jamie makes a game-changing announcement.

Focus On: The Charlatans UK

The Charlatans (known in the US as The Charlatans UK) are an alternative English band that came out of the “Madchester” music scene of the late 80s and early 90s. The term Madchester was a broad genre label that included a mix of alternative and psychedelic rock as well as electronic dance music. Other bands that rose to prominence during this time were The Stone Roses, Happy Mondays and James.

The Charlatans UK sound was more traditional than most of their peers. It started with a bluesy foundation inspired by The Rolling Stones and added dance-oriented rhythms and layers of swirling organs straight out of 60s psychedelia.

When the Madchester movement faded away in the mid 90s, The Charlatans UK stayed relevant by embracing new trends and adding fresh elements into their trademark sound. Initially, it was Brit-Pop of the mid-90s, which was soon followed by underground dance, house and techno. Later years have seen flirtations with folk, jazz and chill. But as successful as they’ve been, the band has also experienced its fair share of tragedy and bad luck over the course of their career, including the death of two members.

Now approaching their 30th anniversary, The Charlatans UK are considered one of the great British journeyman bands of the past few decades. In the UK, all of the band’s twelve studio albums have charted in the Top 40 with three of them being number ones. They have also achieved seventeen Top 30 singles and four Top 10 hits in the UK Singles Chart.

This pod features selections from many of The Charlatans UK studio albums recorded over their lengthy career.

The story of The Charlatans actually starts several years earlier with the opening of The Hacienda nightclub in May of 1982. The club was an offshoot of Factory Records and was very influential in the development of popular culture in Manchester, England. In its early days, The Hacienda featured predominately club-oriented pop music, hosting gigs from early 80s artists such as New Order, Cabaret Voltaire, Culture Club, The Thompson Twins and The Smiths. This helped create a music scene that made Manchester synonymous with alternative pop culture. By 1986, the club had switched focus from being a live venue to a dance club with DJs spinning house music.

The late 80s Madchester sound was a mixture of funk, psychedelia, guitar rock and house music. It was influenced by indie music that dominated the city’s music scene as well as absorbing various influences coming from The Hacienda. Many of the significant bands that would make up the Madchester scene were influenced by the music they heard at The Hacienda. Around 1988, The Stone Roses were one of those bands. With a mix of garage, Krautrock, soul, punk and reggae, they were considered one of the pioneering groups of the movement. Although they had not yet achieved commercial success, their influence is where The Charlatans story begins.

Inspired by The Stone Roses, bassist Martin Blunt recruited keyboardist Rob Collins, drummer Jon Brookes and guitarist Jon Baker to form The Charlatans in 1988. After rehearsing with a variety of vocalists, they settled on Tim Burgess to fill out the original line-up. The band recorded several early demos that year in hopes of securing a record deal. Although they were unsuccessful, the sound that the group would become famous for was evident on these recordings. They were developing a fusion of 1960s soul, R&B and garage rock that was led by Collins’ Hammond organ and the driving rhythm section of Blunt’s bass lines and Brookes’s drumming.

Since their demos did not attract any record labels, the group formed Dead Dead Good records and self-released their debut 12” single “Indian Rope” in January of 1990. Collins’ distinctive Hammond organ sound separated The Charlatans from their other Manchester peers and the single went on to become a number one hit on the British indie charts. By the spring, they’d signed with the major label Beggars Banquet. A few months later, they released the single “The Only One I Know” which was hugely successful. It climbed into the top ten and became the group’s signature single.

The band continued recording throughout the spring of 1990 releasing a second single titled “Then”. By the fall, the group had recorded enough material to release their first full-length album, Some Friendly, which debuted at number one on the British charts.

After such a remarkable start to their career, it was almost inevitable that the band’s fortunes would change. As they launched their first American tour, The Charlatans were forced to add “UK” to their name because a San Francisco band from the 60s owned the rights to the name. Following this tour, guitarist Jon Baker announced he was leaving the band. He was replaced by Mark Collins (no relation to Rob). But the group was further sidetracked by Martin Blunt’s struggles with severe depression.

For their second go-round in the studio, The Charlatans UK brought in noted producer Flood to lead the sessions. However, Flood’s production style clashed with the band’s loose flow leaving them unsatisfied with the final product. Released in April of 1992, the album was titled Between 10th and 11th. It was named after the address of the New York Marquee which was the site of the group’s first US concert. By this time the Madchester sound had become passe and the album was largely ignored by the public, earning mixed reviews by the music press. It failed to reach the Top 20 in the UK Albums Chart. But the success of the lead single “Weirdo”, which reached the Top 20, and two weekends of high-profile gigs together with the group Ride kept them in the public eye.

However, the band’s bad luck streak would continue as they suffered a major setback later that year. Rob Collins was charged with armed robbery after a friend had robbed a liquor store while he was waiting in the car outside. Collins claimed to have no knowledge of the robbery until he heard a gunshot inside the shop as his friend ran out. He pled guilty to a lesser charge and was sentenced to four months in prison. Before he left for jail, Collins joined the band in the studio laying down tracks for what would be their third album.

The goal was to create a classic-rock inspired album fusing influences such as Bob Dylan and The Rolling Stones. Steve Hillage, known for his work with the group Gong, produced the album. It featured a straightforward sound with more active percussion mixed higher in the sound. Released in March of 1994, the record was titled Up To Our Hips and it reached number 8 on the UK Albums Chart. It contained the single “Can’t Get Out Of Bed”.

Led by the positive reaction to their last album, The Charlatans UK returned to the studio to record their most ambitious, focused and successful album yet. Released in September of 1995, the band’s self-titled fourth album saw them become major UK stars again, topping the albums chart and spawning the Top 20 single “Just When You’re Thinkin’ Things Over”. The group incorporated heavy dance elements into its core sound creating a nice balance of traditional and modern post-acid house music.

Sadly, the group’s bad luck was not over. While recording tracks for their fifth album, keyboardist Rob Collins was killed in a car accident on July 22, 1996. With Collins’s keyboard and organ playing being such a large part of the band’s sound, The Charlatans were faced with a big decision, especially with a slot at that year’s Knebworth Festival already booked. They decided to continue, drafting in the Primal Scream and former Felt keyboardist Martin Duffy until a permanent replacement could be found.

Tellin’ Stories, the band’s fifth album, was eventually released in April of 1997. It featured contributions from both Rob Collins and Martin Duffy. The album contained the group’s biggest UK hits to date with the singles “One to Another”, “North Country Boy” and “How High”.

The following year saw the release of the career-spanning compilation Melting Pot which marked the end of the band’s contract with Beggars Banquet. Although they signed with Universal Records, their relationship with Beggars Banquet remained strong and the band helped put together the B-sides collection Songs From The Other Side a few years later. They also released the DVD Just Lookin’ 1990-97,which showcased all their promotional videos and a selection of live recordings from that era.

1999’s Us And Only Us marked the start of a new era for The Charlatans UK. Their first release for Universal saw new keyboard player Tony Rogers make his Charlatans album debut, having previously toured in support of Tellin’ Stories. This album presented a moody atmosphere of deep grooves and sonic textures with a haze of keyboard and subdued beats. Although the album didn’t contain anything as grabbing as the previous album, it did show that the group was figuring out how to make their sound timeless by adding new influences while remaining true to their core sound.

The Charlatans UK faced yet another challenge during this period as lead singer Tim Burgess moved to L.A. However, true to their resilient nature, the band used their singer’s emigration to the other side of the world as a springboard to creative rejuvenation. The result was an album that pumped up the sound of their previous record by re-exploring the dance-rock fusion of their early years. The record was titled Wonderland. Unfortunately, it was released on September 11th, 2001 so it was virtually lost in the turmoil the world experienced during the next few months. But it was well received by critics who felt it subtly incorporated modern dance trends without abandoning the band’s rock base.

Three years later, The Charlatans UK returned with the surprising Up At The Lake. Instead of the hip-hop and dance textures of Wonderland, the group delivered a more subdued record that returned to their classic-rock roots. But, for the first time, they brought a folkier flavor to the sound. Some critics felt it marked a new chapter for the band as now “mature artists”. Other felt The Charlatans UK were retreating and retrenching just as the album’s title suggested. This theory was supported by the fact that Up At The Lake was the band’s only album to not receive a US release.

After signing with Sanctuary Records, the band returned with their ninth full-length album in April of 2006 titled Simpatico. This time, the band explored reggae and dub sounds. The first single, “Blackened Blue Eyes”, hit number 28 while the album reached number 10 in its first week of release. However, it dropped out of the charts soon after. Later in the year, the band put out a career-spanning singles compilation titled Forever: The Singles which was released on CD and DVD. It was preceded by the re-recorded song remixed by Youth, “You’re So Pretty We’re So Pretty”, which originally appeared on Wonderland.

The Charlatans UK played several high-profile supporting gigs in mid-2007 opening for The Who and The Rolling Stones at a number of stadium and festival shows. The band contributed the song “Blank Heart, Blank Mind” to a Love Music, Hate Racism compilation CD which came free with the October 2007 issue of New Music Express. Later that same month, a new single titled “You Cross My Path” was released as a free download exclusively through the XFM website. A second single “Oh! Vanity” emerged in March of 2008, as the band once again teamed up with XFM.

In May of 2008, The Charlatans UK became the first UK band to release an album as a free download via a radio station. The album was You Cross My Path, and it also received a physical CD/LP release which coincided with a full UK tour. The album was a return to form as the band revved up the rhythms and took more risks with the production. Critics felt that the album reconnected to the spirit of their initial series of releases. One was quoted as saying “it’s obvious why this album first appeared for free on the web. It’s the easiest way for The Charlatans UK to demonstrate to all fans, whether they were forgotten or devoted, that they are once again operating at full power”.

2010 was a year of ups and downs for The Charlatans UK. They celebrated the twentieth anniversary of their debut album Some Friendly which they played live at the Primavera Sound Festival. In September of 2010, the band released their eleventh studio album, Who We Touch, on Cooking Vinyl Records. It included the single “Love Is Ending”. For this record, the group recaptured their sense of adventure with a collection of songs that critics described as “neo-shoegazer”. More attention was spent on musical textures instead of the groove, with each song drawing from a different musical palate. The album charted at Number 21 in the UK Albums Chart.

But on September 15th, 2010, drummer Jon Brookes collapsed during a performance in Philadelphia. The remaining US tour dates were postponed, as Brookes was diagnosed with a brain tumor and was flown back to the UK for an operation and course of radiation and chemotherapy treatment. The Verve’s Peter Salisbury acted as a stand-in drummer for the remainder of the Charlatans UK dates. Brookes returned to the stage for the band’s Christmas and New Year Eve’s gigs at the end of the year.

In March of 2011, Universal Music re-released a deluxe edition of the band’s 1999 album Us & Us Only, featuring a collection of bonus tracks including B-sides and live recordings. At the same time, Tim Burgess and Mark Collins played an acoustic tour of the UK which coincided with an EP titled Warm Sounds. It featured six stripped-down and reworked versions of Charlatans tracks including “North Country Boy”, “The Only One I Know” and “Smash The System”. Burgess went on to record a solo album titled Oh No I Love You which was later released in 2012. In December, the band announced they would be performing the album Tellin’ Stories in its entirety at London’s HMV Hammersmith Apollo, O2 Apollo Manchester and Glasgow’s Barrowland Ballroom in June of 2012.

2013 saw the band return to their Big Mushroom studio to begin working on demos for a new album. In May 2013 the Mountain Picnic Blues DVD was released, which was a documentary about their Tellin’ Stories album from its creation in 1997 to the 15th anniversary of the album.

On August 13th, 2013, drummer Jon Brookes succumbed to brain cancer at the age of 44, having undergone several operations and treatment for the condition since his diagnosis in 2010. The band paid him tribute in a special event, with Pete Salisbury playing in his place and bands such as Beady Eye, The Vaccines and Manic Street Preacher also joining the bill. Tim Burgess confirmed that Brookes’s recordings would appear on the band’s next album, originally slated for sometime in 2014.

After The Charlatans signed with BMG Rights Management in 2014, they announced they were recording their twelfth studio album. Modern Nature was eventually released in January of 2015. The album featured contributions from the band’s temporary drummers Peter Salsbury of The Verve, Stephen Morris of New Order and Gabriel Gurnsey of Factory Floor. Although Brookes’s absence is felt, the album mined a chilled-out soulful groove that hinted at the group gaining strength through the therapy of music. Critics felt it showcased a band whose members are aware of where they’ve been and grateful for what they have. Modern Nature hit number 7 on the UK Albums Chart making it the band’s highest charting album since 2001’s Wonderland. The band is currently touring in support of the record having visited the US, Spain, Australia, Japan and Dubai over the past two years.

Spring Treats –

Join host MisterMusic as he serves up some musical treats!

Featuring new music by Holy Holy, Broken Social Scene, and The Jesus & Mary Chain.
A couple of recent appetizers by Ed Harcourt and Wild Belle.
You won’t leave the table without a desert of sweet tunes by The Cars, Cayucas, and Love & Rockets.

See if you can figure out… WhoDunnit?

Pill of Positivity –

Open up wide and pop in PeeperD’s Pill Of Positivity.

It’s a pod of music from across four decades crafted to lift your spirits.
Featuring Kings Of Leon, The Cure, ALO, Donavon Freinkenreiter, The Alarm, War, The Outdoor Type and Caesars. Plus samples of the new album by Thievery Corporation.

Wrap yourself in this warm blanket of sounds and leave the world behind.

Focus On: Peter Gabriel the early years 1976-82-

In 1975, the band Genesis was becoming one of the most popular acts to come out of the progressive rock movement. So it came as quite a surprise when lead singer and front-man Peter Gabriel announced he was leaving the band to pursue a solo career. It turned out to be the right move as Gabriel’s eventually became one of the most popular artists in the world.

This pod examines the six year period from 1976 to 1982 during which Peter Gabriel took a giant leap of faith leaving behind the comfort of Genesis to pursue his musical vision. With a willingness to experiment and a desire to create a unique sound, Gabriel’s first four solo albums helped shape a new style of intelligent rock music. He melded electronic, experimental and world music influences with cutting edge technologies to produce what would become his signature sound.

Join host PeeperD as he tells the story of Peter Gabriel’s departure from Genesis and his rise to superstar status in this special edition of Focus On.

Peter Gabriel is an English singer-songwriter, musician and humanitarian activist who rose to fame as the original lead singer of the progressive rock band Genesis. After leaving Genesis in 1975, Gabriel launched a solo career, with “Solsbury Hill”. His 1986 album, “So”, is his best-selling release and is certified triple platinum in the UK and five times platinum in the U.S. The album’s most successful single, “Sledgehammer”, won a record nine awards at the 1987 MTV Video Music Awards and remains the most played music video in the history of MTV.

Gabriel has been a champion of world music for much of his career. He co-founded the WOMAD festival in 1982. He has continued to focus on producing and promoting world music through his Real World Records label. Gabriel has also been involved in numerous humanitarian efforts. In 1980, he released the anti-apartheid single “Biko”. He has participated in several human rights benefit concerts, including Amnesty International’s “Human Rights Now!” tour in 1988, and co-founded the Witness human rights organization in 1992.

Gabriel has won three Brit Awards,six Grammy Awards, thirteen MTV Video Music Awards, the first Pioneer Award at the BT Digital Music Awards, the Q magazine Lifetime Achievement, the Ivor Novello Award for Lifetime Achievement, and the Polar Music Prize. He was made a BMI Icon at the 57th annual BMI London Awards for his “influence on generations of music makers”. In recognition of his many years of human rights activism, he received the Man of Peace award from the Nobel Peace Prize Laureates, and Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world. AllMusic has described Gabriel as “one of rock’s most ambitious, innovative musicians, as well as one of its most political”. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame as a member of Genesis in 2010, followed by his induction as a solo artist in 2014.

March Pod –

MisterMusic hosts this podcast for March.

Even though we ‘spring ‘ ahead this month as a start to Daylight Savings, and soon-to-be longer days and warmer temperatures, there still is a bit of ‘ol winter left for most of us.
The lingering cold weather won’t put a damper on the great tunes found in this podcast!
Featuring new music from The Black Angels, Depeche Mode, and The Orwells.
Plus, a few older hot numbers from Turin Brakes, NRBQ, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, and a collaboration from Stan Ridgeway with Stuart Copeland.

Music Of Mardi Gras – vol. 5 –

Here’s a mix of some of the biggest names of the Crescent City .
It’s guaranteed to kick your carnival into high gear! Songs from The Meters, Trombone Shorty, Mighty Sam McClain, Cottonmouth Robicheaux, The Pinstripe Brass Band,
Willy DeVille, Courtney Granger and The One Love Brass Band.
Plus a live cut from our archives featuring The Band teaming up with Bobby Charles.

It’s the last big party before lent~ Time to whip up a pitcher of hurricanes and some red beans & rice!

New Mix –

MisterMusic is back with a New Mix of tunes for February!

Featuring the latest by The Jesus & Mary Chain, and Swimming Tapes.
Plus a couple from the vault by David & David, Bill Withers, and Ian Hunter.
Rockers from Iggy & The Stooges, and Bad Company round out the set.

Focus On: Dr. John –

Dr. John, is actually Mac Rebennack, an American singer, songwriter, pianist and guitarist, with a distinctive growl of a voice.

His music combines blues, pop, jazz, funk, R&B, as well as zydeco, boogie-woogie and rock and roll. Active as a session musician since the late 1950s, he originally gained a cult following in the late 1960s following the release of his album “Gris-Gris”. To accompany the album he transformed himself into “Dr. John The Night Tripper” with wildly theatrical stage shows inspired by old time medicine shows, Mardi Gras costumes and voodoo ceremonies. Eventually, Dr. John moved to a more traditionally-based R&B and funk-based sound that is heavily influenced by his native New Orleans. In 1973, he scored a top-20 hit with “Right Place Wrong Time”. Over the course of his lengthy career, he has veered between his own brand of “voodoo” music and traditional forms of blues and R&B.

Dr. John has recorded over 35 albums and has won numerous Grammy Awards. His songs and scores have appeared in feature films, TV shows and commercials as well as instructional videos. Additionally, he has served as a producer, arranger, session player and collaborator for many other artists.

Born in New Orleans in 1940, Malcolm John “Mac” Rebennack found early musical inspiration in the minstrel tunes sung by his grandfather and a number of aunts, uncles, sister and cousins who played piano. His father, the owner of an appliance store and record shop, exposed him as a young boy to prominent jazz musicians like King Oliver and Louis Armstrong. Throughout his adolescence his father’s connections gave him access to the recording sessions of burgeoning rock artists such as Little Richard and Guitar Slim. From these exposures he advanced into clubs and onto the stage playing with various local artists. In his early teens, Rebennack met Professor Longhair, which started a period that would mark rapid growth as a musician and the beginnings of his life as a professional musician. Rebennack grew up with full exposure to the realities of New Orleans. Prostitutes, pimps, thieves and addicts all participated in the same nightlife scene that contributed to his development as a musician. During the 1950s, he sold narcotics and even ran a brothel.

Rebennack split his time between the clubs and recording studios. Because of his knowledge of the local music scene, he served as an A&R (artist and repertoire) man scouting talent to record mono 45 RPM singles for local labels. At age 16, he was hired as a producer at Ace Records where his musical experience expanded dramatically working with artists like James Booker and Earl King. As a musician, Rebennack originally concentrated on guitar gigging with local bands. He had a regional hit with a Bo Diddley-influenced instrumental called “Storm Warning” on Rex Records in 1959. However, his career as a guitarist was stunted when his left ring finger was injured by a gunshot while defending a bandmate at a gig in Jackson, Mississippi. After the injury, Rebennack eventually shifted over to piano as his main instrument.

During this period, he descended into heavy narcotics use and was arrested on drug charges. He was sentenced to two years at a federal prison in Fort Worth, Texas. When his sentence ended in 1965, he moved to Los Angeles where he became a “first call” session musician in the booming studio scene of the 1960s and 1970s. Rebennack was part of the so-called “Wrecking Crew” stable of studio musicians that provided backing for artists such as Sonny & Cher, Canned Heat, and Frank Zappa & The Mothers Of Invention, as well as many other acts.

Beginning in the late 1960s, Rebennack gained fame as a solo artist after adopting the persona of Dr. John, The Night Tripper. “Gris-Gris”, his 1968 debut album which combined voodoo rhythms and chants with the New Orleans music tradition, was ranked 143rd on Rolling Stone’s “The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time” list. During this time, he put together a band of talented musicians and toured extensively. Dr. John’s act combined New Orleans-style R&B with psychedelic rock and elaborate stage shows that bordered on voodoo religious ceremonies, including elaborate costumes and headdress. These tours helped raise his profile in the music community. Three more albums, “Babylon” (1969), “Remedies” (1970) and “The Sun, Moon, and Herbs” (1971), were released in the same vein as “Gris-Gris”. By this time, Dr. John had gained a notable cult following, which included artists such as Eric Clapton and Mick Jagger, who both took part in the sessions for “The Sun, Moon, and Herbs”. This album served as a transition from his Night Tripper voodoo, psychedelic persona to one more closely associated with traditional New Orleans R&B and funk.

His next album, “Dr. John’s Gumbo”, proved to be a landmark recording and is one of his most popular to this day. Considered a cornerstone of New Orleans music, it features covers of several New Orleans R&B standards. The lead single from the album, “Iko Iko”, broke into the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. In 2003, the album was ranked number 404 on Rolling Stone’s magazine’s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. It allowed Dr. John to expand beyond the psychedelic voodoo music and theatrics which had driven his career since he took on the Dr. John persona, although it has always remained an integral part of his music and identity. “After we cut the new record”, Rebennack was quoted as saying, “I decided I’d had enough of the “mighty-coo-de-fiyo” hoodoo show, so I dumped the Gris-Gris routine we had been touring with since 1967 and worked up a new act—a Mardi Gras revue featuring the New Orleans standards we had covered in Gumbo.”

In 1973, with Allen Toussaint producing and The Meters backing, Dr. John released the seminal New Orleans funk album “In The Right Place”. In the same way that “Gris-Gris” introduced the world to the voodoo-influenced side of his music, and that “Dr. John’s Gumbo” began his career-long reputation as an esteemed interpreter of New Orleans standards, “In the Right Place” established Dr. John as one of the main ambassadors of New Orleans funk. Although it was still anchored in R&B, the album had more of a straight-ahead dance feel than his previous recordings. It rose to number 24 on the Billboard album charts, while the single “Right Place Wrong Time” landed at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. A second single, “Such a Night”, peaked at number 42. Still in heavy rotation on most classic rock stations, “Right Place Wrong Time” remains his single most recognized song.

Attempting to capitalize on the successful formula of “In The Right Place”, Dr. John again collaborated with Allen Toussaint and The Meters, for his next album, “Desitively Bonnaroo”, released in 1974. Although similar in feel, the record failed to catch hold in the mainstream like its predecessor had done. It would be his last pure funk album until 1994’s “Television”. However, like his voodoo and traditional New Orleans R&B influences, funk has continued to heavily influence most of his work to the present day especially in concert. In 1975, Dr. John took his well-honed musical revue on the road and made a stop in Hollywood. The result was the live album, “Hollywood Be Thy Name”, which was an excellent example of his live performances during this era.

On Thanksgiving Day 1976 he performed at the farewell concert for The Band, which was filmed by Martin Scorsese and released as “The Last Waltz”s. Also in the mid-1970s Dr. John began an almost twenty year collaboration with the R&R Hall of Fame/Songwriters Hall of Fame writer Doc Pomus. Initially, this partnership resulted in songs for Dr. John’s 1978 “City Lights” and 1979’s “Tango Palace”, as well as B.B. King’s “There Must Be a Better World Somewhere”, which won a Grammy for Best Ethnic or Traditional Recording in 1982.

Throughout the 70s, Dr. John was also a prominent session musician. He played piano on The Rolling Stones’ 1972 song “Let It Loose”, and backed Carly Simon and James Taylor in their duet of “Mockingbird” in 1974, and Neil Diamond on “Beautiful Noise” in 1976. He also contributed the song “More and More” to Simon’s “Playing Possum” album. He played on three songs on Maria Muldaur’s 1973 solo debut album, including his composition “Three Dollar Bill”. He was co-producer on Van Morrison’s 1977 album “A Period Of Transition” and also played keyboards and guitar. He contributed three songs and also played guitar and keyboards on Levon Helm’s 1977 release, “Levon Helm and the RCO Allstars”. He played keyboards on the highly successful 1979 solo debut album by Rickie Lee Jones and has toured with Willy DeVille and contributed to his album 1978 album “Return To Magenta”. In 1979, he collaborated with the legendary Professor Longhair on his last recording “Crawfish Fiesta”, as a guitarist and co-producer. The album was awarded the first W.C. Handy Blues Album of the Year in 1980, and was released shortly after Longhair’s death in January 1980.

Dr. John didn’t record many albums during the 80s. In 1981 and 1983, he put out two solo piano albums where he played many of his own boogie-woogie compositions. But he did release music through other means. He wrote and performed the score for the film version of John Steinbeck’s Cannery Row released in 1982. His songs were featured in many films, including “New Look” in “National Lampoon’s European Vacation” in 1985 and “Such a Night” in “Colors” in 1988. Film scores for documentaries included the New Orleans dialect film “Yeah You Rite!” in 1985 and “American Tongues” in 1987. Dr. John was also featured in several video and audio piano lessons of blues and New Orleans piano styles published by Homespun Tapes.

During this period, Dr. John’s longtime confidant and personal manager, Paul Howrilla, was responsible for securing this crossover work. He moved Dr. John from Los Angeles to New York City, as well as modifying Dr. John’s image from the 1970s to the 1990s. In 1988, he signed with the major label Warner Brothers. The following year he released his first vocal studio album in ten years “In A Sentimental Mood”. It was a set of pop standards that included the Grammy winning duet with Rickie Lee Jones, “Makin’ Whoopee”. Between July and September 1989, Dr. John toured in the first Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band, along side Levon Helm, Rick Danko, Nils Lofgren, Jim Keltner, Joe Walsh, Billy Preston and Clarence Clemons. The tour produced the 1990 live album “Ringo Starr And His All-Starr Band”.

In 1992, Dr. John’s second album for Warner Brothers was a musical history of the Crescent City. “Goin’ Back To New Orleans”, featured many great New Orleans-based musicians, such as Aaron Neville, The Neville Brothers, Al Hirt and Pete Fountain, backing him up. It won a Grammy for Best Traditional Blues Album that year.

Although he ended his relationship with Warner Brothers, Dr. John continued to release albums throughout the rest of the decade. 1994’s funky “Television”, and 1998’s “Anutha Zone” were highlights of this period, as well as the 1997 live album “Trippin’ Live” which was recorded over a week-long stint in London. He continued his cross over work as well with “My Opinionation” which was the theme song for the early 90s television sitcom “Blossom”. Dr. John also did the vocals for Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits’ “Luv Dat Chicken” jingle.

A version of “Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans” with Harry Connick Jr. was released on Connick’s album “20” and VHS “Singin’ & Swingin’” in 1990. In 1996, he performed the song “Cruella De Vil” during the end credits of the film “101 Dalmations”. In 1997, he appeared on the charity single version of Lou Reed’s “Perfect Day”. In the same year, he played piano on the Spiritualized song “Cop Shoot Cop…”, from their critically acclaimed album “Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space”.

Dr John signed with Blue Note Records in 2000 releasing the Duke Ellington tribute “Duke Elegant”. In the feature film “Blues Brothers 2000”, he joined the fictional band The Louisiana Gator Boys to perform the songs “How Blue Can You Get” and “New Orleans”. His version of the Donovan song “Season Of The Witch” was also featured in the movie and on the soundtrack.

In 2001, Dr. John returned with an album of New Orleans R&B titled “Creole Moon”. For this recording, he was backed by his “Lower 9-11 Musician Vocaleers”, which was comprised of a group of musicians who’d been playing with him for many years. Another strong offering followed in 2004 with “N’Awlinz Dis, Dat Or D’Utha”. In September 2005, he performed Bobby Charles’ “Walkin’ to New Orleans”, to close the “Shelter From The Storm: A Concert For The Gulf Coast” telethon in relief of Hurricane Katrina victims. In response to the devastation of his hometown, Dr. John released a four-song EP, “Sippiana Hericane”, in November to benefit the New Orleans Musicians’ Clinic, Salvation Army, and the Jazz Foundation of America.

On February 5, 2006, he joined fellow New Orleans native Aaron Neville, Aretha Franklin and a 150-member choir for the national anthem at Super Bowl XL as part of a pre-game tribute to New Orleans. Three days later, he joined Allen Toussaint, Bonnie Raitt, The Edge, and Irma Thomas to perform “We Can Can” as the closing performance at the Grammy Awards. In May of 2006, Dr. John released his final album for Blue Note, “Mercenary”. It was an album made up almost entirely of tunes by Johnny Mercer with a new soul twist. That same month, he recorded a live session at Abbey Road Studios for “Live From Abbey Road”. He also performed the opening theme music to the PBS children’s program “Curious George”. On July 30, 2006, Dr. John performed a solo piano show at a New Orleans Musicians Relief Fund benefit at the Black Orchid Theatre in Chicago.

In 2007, Dr. John accepted an invitation to participate in “Goin’ Home: A Tribute To Fats Domino”. He contributed his version of Domino’s “Don’t Leave Me This Way”. In January 2008, Dr. John, was inducted into The Louisiana Music Hall Of Fame. Later, in February, he performed at “All-Star Saturday Night”, part of the NBA All-Star Weekend hosted by New Orleans. In June, he released the album “City That Care Forgot” which featured guest appearances from Eric Clapton, Willie Nelson, Terrence Blanchard and Ani DiFranco. It yielded the hit “Time For A Change” and won a Grammy for Best Contemporary Blues Album. With a string of great albums, Dr. John was more consistent in the early 2000s than at any other time in his career.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Dr. John became a full-fledged activist with an increased sense of urgency about Louisiana and the Gulf region. In his concert performances and media interviews, he focused on educating the world about his geography’s significance as a musical, spiritual, and environmental territory. After spending several decades away from his home, Dr. John moved back to New Orleans in 2009. In the Disney film of that year “The Princess And The Frog”, he sang the opening tune, “Down In New Orleans”.

He reigned as King of the Krewe Du Vieux for the 2010 New Orleans Mardi Gras season. On May 13, 2010, Dr. John played alongside The Roots on “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon” and was warmly greeted by Jimmy’s first guest, Keith Richards. In June, Dr John played at the Glastonbury Festival in the UK. Two months later, he released the album “Tribal” which employed some of the spookier elements of his earlier recordings like “Gris-Gris”. Significantly, Dr. John wrote 13 of the record’s 14 tracks. Critics called it a revelation saying “Tribal is a career-defining summation from one of America’s most important musicians”.

In 2011, Dr. John, Allen Toussaint and The Meters performed “Desitively Bonnaroo” in its entirety at the Bonnaroo Music And Arts Festival as part of its tenth year celebration. The name of the festival was taken from the name of his 1974 album. He also played keyboards and had a major role in shaping Gregg Allman’s 2011 album “Low Country Blues”, which was produced by T-Bone Burnett. Later that same year he was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame along with Neil Diamond, Alice Cooper, Darlene Love and Tom Waits.

In 2012, he released “Locked Down”, a collaboration with Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys, who produced and played guitar. The album received very positive reviews for its raw, Afrobeat-influenced sound. The Los Angeles Times said that “it created something magical, the embodiment of everything he’s done but pushed in a clear new direction”. It won the Grammy for Best Blues album that year.

In spring 2014, “The Musical Mojo of Mac”, a tribute concert to honor Dr. John was held in New Orleans. It featured an all-star cast including Aaron Neville, Irma Thomas, Widespread Panic, Allen Toussaint, Warren Haynes, John Fogerty, Mavis Staples, Jason Isbell, Tab Benoit, Ryan Bingham and The Dirty Dozen Brass Band among others. The show was kicked off by Bruce Springsteen singing “Right Place, Wrong Time”, with Dr. John and an all-star band which included event producer Don Was on bass.

In August, Dr. John released his Louis Armstrong tribute album, “Ske-Dat-De-Dat: The Spirit of Satch”. He described the inspiration of the album as Louis Armstrong coming to him in a dream and telling him “do my music your way”. “Ske-Dat-De-Dat” turned many of the songs Armstrong recorded inside out and upside down, fast-forwarding them to 2014 with hip-hop beats, funk grooves and wildly inventive horn arrangements.

Dr. John’s 2014 and 2015 world tours included sold-out shows throughout the U.S. and Europe. They alternated between Louis Armstrong tribute shows and career-spanning gigs with his backing band The Nite Trippers. In January of 2016, Dr. John was one of the headliners on Jam Cruise 14. He was also featured in the Disney soundtrack to the film “The Jungle Book” singing “The Bare Necessities”.

After the death of his long-time friend and collaborator, Allen Toussaint, Dr. John and the Nite Trippers appeared at the Hollywood Bowl tribute show “Yes We Can Can” on July 20, 2016. Also performing Toussaint compositions were New Orleans artists Irma Thomas, Cyril Neville, Galactic, and the Allen Toussaint Band. In October, a live album and DVD of the “Musical Mojo” tribute concert was released. It demonstrates the influence Dr. John’s blend of jazz, soul, R&B, rock and pop has had on other musicians over the years. That same month, he was honored at the Jazz Foundation of America’s “A Great Night In Harlem” at the legendary Apollo Theater.

This one will light a spark to a winter day.

Inauguration Celebration –

Podcloud1 has no problem getting artists to play at our Inauguration “Celebration” ~

Join host PeeperD as he celebrates the transition of power with musical guests The Rolling Stones, REM, Bob Dylan, The Kinks, Richard Thompson, Jarvis Cocker, and World Party. Plus a classic dance track from the 80s by Heaven 17.
Celebrity appearances abound in this politically-themed mix peppered with gallows humor.
If we’re going to hell in a bucket, at least we can enjoy the ride!

January Pod –

MisterMusicstarts the year with a pod featuring new music by Grandaddy, Strand of Oaks, and Elbow.
Filling out the pod is music from Yello, Elvis Costello & the Attractions, Midnight Oil, Alberta Cross, and The Shins.

Turn It Up!

Focus On: Silversun Pickups –

Silversun Pickups is an alternative rock band from Los Angeles that was formed in 2000.

Their atmospheric sound contains elements of dream pop, psychedelic rock and shoegazing. They’ve often been compared to The Smashing Pumpkins due to the similarities between lead singer Brian Aubert’s raspy androgynous vocal stylings and those of great pumpkin Billy Corgan. But the comparisons don’t stop there. Silversun Pickups’ song structure mimics the loud/soft and light/dark dynamics associated with 90s alternative bands. However the band has been able to take all of these influences and craft an instantly identifiable sound that has made them a favorite of music critics and fans. It has propelled them to the top of the alternative charts which, in turn, has made them a major live attraction. Besides headlining sold out concert tours all over the world, they frequent the festival circuit with numerous appearances at Lollapalooza and Coachella over the years.

This pod features selections from all four of their studio albums, their debut ep, a special Record Store Day ep and a previously-unreleased song which appeared on their greatest hits collection.

Lead guitarist and vocalist Brian Aubert met bassist Nikki Monninger in 1994 on a flight from Los Angeles to London. Both of them were heading to Cambridge for a school exchange program. He noticed her sitting across the aisle as she was stealing alcohol from the drink cart by distracting the flight attendant. The two became friends and stayed in touch when they returned to L.A. During the late 90s, they played together or in mutual friends’ bands all across the L.A. club scene.

Eventually they formed a band called A Couple Of Couples. This name reflected the fact that Aubert was romantically involved with drummer Elvira Gonzales while Monninger was in a relationship with rhythm guitarist Jack Kennedy. However, after both couples broke up, the group went through some personnel changes, and in 2003, Gonzales and Kennedy left the band. They were replaced by keyboard player Joe Lester and Christopher Guanlao on drums.

They began to attract a strong following in the uber-hip Silver Lake music scene with regular shows at trendy clubs like The Silverlake Lounge and Spaceland. The band’s name comes from a liquor store across the street from The Silverlake Lounge. One of their friends would often arrive at the store late at night to buy liquor making what was known as the “Silversun Pickup”.

In these early days, the group was constantly playing live and, in the process, learned how to be a band on stage. At one of their shows, Aubert was given a live bootleg CD of the group. He described listening to it as “unbelievably horrifying”. The band decided they needed to enter a studio to record their own material.

Between 2002 and 2003, they began recording songs at the area recording studio “The Ship”. In 2004, they recorded two more songs at Clearlake Studios. This was followed by two more songs in 2005 at Sunset Sound. Around this time, the group signed with Dangerbird Records. All of the previously-recorded songs were combined to make the band’s debut EP titled “Pikul” which was released in July. The title came from the nickname of a friend of the band who had died, and to whom the album was dedicated.

The EP was received well by critics. Charles Sears from Spacelab gave it three out of five stars saying “the music of Pikul is light on the ears but heavy and deep on the sounds”. The first single was “Kissing Families” which was called a culmination of a 90s rock blend of alternative and shoegaze. Comparisons were drawn to The Smashing Pumpkins and My Bloody Valentine. Silversun Pickups were a band ready to take the world by storm.

They began work on their first full-length album in January of 2006. Unlike the hodgepodge nature of the EP, the band wanted to have a more thought-out and put-together sound. They concentrated on the guitar sounds over a four month period at several different studios including Sunset Sound.

The album was titled “Carnavas” and it was released in July of 2006. The title was the Greek maiden name of Aubert’s family. Some suppliers were also given copies of a four track EP “The Tripwire Session: Live in Chicago”.

It was released to much anticipation in the indie rock blogosphere. Pitchfork said “Carnavas scores points for constructing dreamlike aural shrouds. Those nostalgic for Smashing Pumpkins tunes of yesteryear will find themselves nestled inside the minutes of Lazy Eye.” IGN wrote “the androgynous vocals of front man Brian Aubert might not work in support of another band, but the warm wash of sound of Silversun Pickups and the fragile intensity of its leader combine to provide an album that will leave listeners tattered, torn and ultimately satisfied. Silversun Pickups’s debut album is one of the most stunning debut albums of the year.”

Carnavas generated two successful singles on the U.S. Modern Rock chart. “Lazy Eye” hit number 5 in 2007 and “Well Thought Out Twinkles” hit number 9 in 2008. Both of the songs were featured in popular video games of the time. Riding the success of the album, the band set off on a concert tour that started in bars and small venues. But they quickly graduated to arenas opening for Snow Patrol and eventually a spot on the 2007 Coachella and Lollapalooza stages.

After completing the tour at the end of 2007, the band took a two month break. During this time, they built their own studio named “The Dark”. In July of 2008, they began work on their follow-up album. Over an eight month period, the group laid down 17 new songs which were eventually cut down to ten for the album. It was titled “Swoon” and was released in April of 2009. The first single was “Panic Switch” which went to number one on Billboard’s Alternative Songs chart. It also appeared on several popular video games including Rock Band and Guitar Hero.

Like Carnavas, Swoon received generally positive reviews from critics. Spin called it “a trip best made with headphones”. They said “the Pickups pile on the sophomore-album enhancements, deepening a sound that scarcely wanted for depth beforehand.” Sputnik Music said “Swoon is an impressive album from an up and coming band.” The album reached the seventh spot on the Billboard 200.

To promote the new album, Silversun Pickups started with three shows in England before returning to play Coachella. They then set out on a tour of the U.S. which included a taping in New York for MTV’s Unplugged in May. In June they began a month-long European tour and then returned to continue across the U.S and Canada including a slot at Lollapalooza 2009.

Around this time, the band released a second single, “Substitution”, which made it to number 17 on the alternative charts.They continued touring across Canada and back to the U.S. through November. The group finished the year by supporting Placebo on their Winter 2009 European tour. In early December, the band was nominated for a Grammy in the Best New Artist category.

They opened 2010 with an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live in January. A third single, “The Royal We”, was released in February reaching number five on the alternative charts. In spring, the band supported Muse for their U.S. Tour. They toured North America again in the summer with Against Me! That fall, they played several dates in Australia with the band Birds Of Tokyo. In October of 2010, they appeared on Austin City Limits which marked the end of 18 months on the road. The band decided to take a year-long break from the concert stage to focus on recording their third album.

While working on new material throughout 2011, Silversun Pickups stayed in the public eye with a couple of releases. They contributed a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Not Dark Yet” for the tribute album “Chimes Of Freedom: Songs Of Bob Dylan Honoring 50 Years Of Amnesty International”. In November, the band released a three song 10” vinyl single for Record Store Day’s “Back To Black Friday” event. Titled “Seasick”, it was comprised of three previously unreleased songs that were left over from the “Swoon” sessions.

In February of 2012, the group announced they would be playing the main stage at the upcoming Sasquatch! Music Festival. The next month, the band confirmed via Twitter that their new album would be titled “Neck Of The Woods” with the first single, “Bloody Mary (Nerve Endings)” to be released at the end of the month.

On May 8, 2012, Silversun Pickups released their third studio album. It opened near the top of the i-Tunes top 100 albums and moved to the number one spot the following day. Around the same time, the band announced they would be playing a number of high-profile summer music festivals. Reception for the album was generally positive. Alternative Press awarded the album four out of five stars saying” Silversun Pickups are not re-living the ghosts of alt-rock past. Instead, they’re helping define the genre’s future.”

Prior to the start of a fall tour of North America, Nikki Monninger announced she was pregnant and would be temporarily replaced by Sarah Negahdari from the group The Happy Hollows. A second single, “The Pit” was soon released eventually hitting number five on the alternative music charts. It would be followed by “Dots And Dashes (Enough Already)” in January of 2013.

Throughout the rest of the year, the band had a much lighter road schedule with many days off between gigs. Highlights included an acoustic show at Origami Vinyl for Record Store Day, a set at the J Paul Getty Museum, several radio station promotional gigs and another appearance on Austin City Limits. After a spot on Jimmy Kimmel in February of 2014, the group took a long deserved break.

2014 only saw a couple of live performances while the band enjoyed their time off. However they did release a compilation album titled “The Singles Collection” which contained a new song “Cannibal”. In October, the group announced that they had begun work on their next record.

During this period, the band formed their own label “New Machine Records”. Finally, on June 15, 2015, Silversun Pickups announced a new album. The first single, “Nightlight” was released the following month in advance of the record. The band began a short promotional tour of record stores and small venues across the U.S.

“Better Nature” came out at the end of September. It corresponded with the release of the record’s second single “Circadian Rhythm (Last Dance)”. The album was recorded in collaboration with producer/mixer Jacknife Lee who brought electronic and industrial touches to the band’s signature sound. Critics noticed the subtle changes. Sputnik Music wrote “Silversun Pickups have finally embarked upon a journey for lusher, more electronically-vibrant pastures. Better Nature is really just the next logical step for the band and it qualifies as yet another gem in this group’s already illustrious discography.”

Silversun Pickups began a U.S. and Canadian tour in September that carried over into January of 2016. The band continued to tour throughout North America and Europe for the remainder of 2016 with highlights including two sets at Coachella in the spring as well as another appearance at Lollapalooza.